


After All...

by Agraulis_vanillae



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underfell, Attempted Child Abuse, Chara and Frisk are separate entities, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Reparation, Silent Hill Inspired
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-29
Updated: 2016-02-29
Packaged: 2018-05-23 23:54:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6134399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Agraulis_vanillae/pseuds/Agraulis_vanillae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>... it's still you. After prolonged period of time, Frisk managed to separate themselves from the malevolence that was Chara. Now to fix the world that Chara abused.</p>
            </blockquote>





	After All...

They weren't sure how they did it, or how many resets occurred like an eternity looping back and forth during that process, but finally they accomplished that sensation of falling...

...and woke up, alone and for the first time since they could barely remember, in control. The cavern above them was every bit as expansive as they remembered. The entrance to the Underground loomed imposing, and unreachable. Frisk got to enjoy the privilege of thinking “Why hadn't I ever looked up before?”

The flowers that stopped their fall and supported them as they sat looked wilted, dull. Their vibrant golden hue seemed to have faded into a silver, and so Frisk checked for something to water them. An old watering can sat forgotten in the corner, so they picked it up. Still a little water left, and it was better than nothing. They sprinkled the flowers, careful to distribute the water to as many exhausted blooms as possible. Sparkling with new dew, Frisk thought they could see a little yellow blush return to the petals. Satisfied, they continued on.

An ominous silence greeted them where Flowey normally would have attacked them. Frisk checked the flowers, and looked around. The room was too small to hide the soulless flower, and so with a sense of resignation, they continued on, watering pot in hand. 

The Ruins were tomb-like in their silence, eerie, and Frisk was able to retrieve fresh water in only a few rooms in. They refilled the water pot, determined to bring the golden flowers back to life when Toriel shuffled in. If Frisk thought that they were tired, sore, and hurting from being so close to Chara for so long, then Toriel's ragged persona extended far beyond that. Ragged scars that should have healed slashed across her body, and she held the far off look of a sleepwalker. She stopped, as if uncertain as to why she was there.

Frisk stood in front of her, water pot in hand, for a full minute before they were noticed.

“My child, where did you go? For so long..?” Toriel mumbled. Frisk stiffened in surprise. Was the effect of so many resets... diminishing their effectiveness? A little blossom of hope blooming, Frisk silently raised their arms to hug their mom-

-only to feel an intense heat barely pass their face as they were unexpectedly tripped.

“YOU IDIOT!!!”

The glow of Flowey's faded petals in light of Toriel's fire magic was the same as the unhealthy pallor of the flowers left behind, but more disturbing at that moment was the slow grin spreading across Toriel's face. Frisk could see many of her molars, and the corners of mouth didn't push up at her eyes. On the contrary, her eyes lit up in ecstasy of her find, and the irises of her eyes seemed to swim in the sickly gleam of the whites.

“Frisk, in this world it's kill or be killed, you've got to move move MOVE!!!” Flowey yelled from under Frisk's entwined legs, having been the one to forcibly trip them in place. Frisk scrambled to stand, Flowey's grip loosening to allow them to move, and they narrowly dodged the next attack.

“My child, it has really been too long, it seems that you never come to visit these days...” Toriel cooed. “Let me bake you -into- a pie,”

Almost as if on instinct, Frisk dodged and weaved through the traps and puzzles of the Ruins, and at Toriel's shambling gait, easily left her behind with Flowey burrowing behind them.

They finally stopped, hiding in a corner of the ruins, breathing hard and holding the watering can close.  
“Man... you really are still an IDIOT,” Flowey cursed at Frisk. “Why are you holding that watering can?” 

With Frisk's deadpan stare still in place, they held it above Flowey's head, and poured.

“Pft-fft-fffFFFRISK STOP!” Flowey sputtered, sinking into the ground and burrowing away. He reemerged a couple of feet away. “I'm not like the other flowers! My color isn't something you can fix with a little TLC!”

Frisk stopped, and rasped, unused to using their own voice, “What happened?”

Flowey shook off what moisture clung to him, and looked at them. There was something about his demeanor that spoke of defeat, and something else intangible. “Exactly what you think would happen. Chara's... been abusing the resets ever since he took over. How the hell did you get out?”

Frisk held his arms out in an exaggerated shrug, “I held on...” they coughed for a second, painfully, unable to quite get everything out.

“I... I just...” Flowey seemed to struggle with something. Frisk could hear a hint of Asriel coming out, and reached to pat away the rest of the water, snapping whatever held Flowey back before “J-just where did you GO?!”

He buried himself in Frisk's shirt, and despite their best efforts, couldn't quite pat away all the new water or the muffled sobs that wrenched free of the little flower. They resolved to hug him tightly instead.

“How about your determination?” Flowey asked, his face turned upward, tearful eyes narrowing. “Your ability to reset?”

Frisk hadn't really given the idea much thought. They'd been on autopilot, trying to soothe the visible signs of damage to their world. Upon his prompting, they tried to remember if they'd passed any save points fleeing from their mad mother.

“The world is blurring, the resets... not quite erasing everything. I think the determination that Chara took... might be... decaying?” Flowey took a deep breath. “Frisk, I need to know. Can you... do you... still have determination?”

Frisk breathed in, trying to recall even how to do it. It was one thing to believe that they still had determination, but being so close to Chara for so long... even holding to their hopes and dreams as they had started to feel like a spiraling nightmare. As it was, there was a story that if you dreamed of falling and didn't wake up before you hit the bottom, you would die. Looking around... it wasn't just Flowey and other flowers that had suffered intense neglect. Leaf piles were scattered and coated in a seemingly fine ash-like powder. There were even rooms that had collapsed in on themselves, rendering entire puzzle rooms untouchable. There were no Froggits or Whimsun present, though the crawling sensation across the nape of Frisk's neck would suggest not all monsters had been eliminated. Certainly, Toriel was still alive, though maddened and ragged.

“My chiiild... where did you go? I do not like these games you are playing,” Toriel called, her timing along with Frisk's thoughts as if summoned. Flowey cringed into Frisk's side, and Frisk checked their surroundings. It didn't seem likely that they could successfully hide from one pillar to another without Toriel noticing, but they didn't have much choice either. 

The skip of their heartbeat in their throat filled them with uncertainty.

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to do a full "Underfell" story as I thought it might be like, and took a lot of little headcanon stuff I accidentally collected from the community and started piecing it together in a coherent piece. Speaking of, shout-out to whoever originally thought of silver!Flowey. I thought it was pretty cool. I'm hoping the story will turn out well, and I've got Pomander beta-ing for this, so maybe it'll be really cool? Welp, we'll see. Hey Pomander, I'm heading to Grillby's wanna come?


End file.
